Not a fail for those who came shopping for garage sale deals, or for those who brought their junk to transfer to someone else's garage, but it was definitely a fail for me. Maybe the other vendor booths fared better. The one next to us was an Avon representative who brought a whole bunch of inventory and marked it all down to clearance prices, and they seemed to do pretty well, but another booth farther down the hallway with lots of Valentine balloons and gifts didn't seem to get rid of much stuff from what we could see.
My mom suggested we get a booth since it was a huge event at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City right before Valentine's day, thinking we might get a few last-minute gift shoppers interested in some unique jewelry. Unfortunately for us, the customers were those who came with a large wheeled suitcase armed to get as much random junk as they could for $1, and they simply weren't interested in a $15 pair of earrings, no matter how cute. We had a decent amount of traffic at the table, and many of them gushed about "how pretty" it all was, but then they all walked away to try their luck at the garage sale booths. A few said they'd be back later, but most people were so overloaded with stuff on their way out that they were making a beeline for the door hoping they could hold it all until they got to the car. Several trips like that for some of them, actually.
There were a few entertaining things that happened while we were there. Our booth was the first one inside the gate so we got to watch everyone come and go. Admission was $1 for adults and everyone got their hand stamped, and it was funny to watch the kids stare at their hands, transfixed by the magical red smiley face. Some little kids were clearly hand-stamp veterans, nodding and holding out their fists to the ticket-takers, grinning proudly. Others were more reserved, or downright scared, and a few of the quieter ones gave the poor ticket-takers a dirty look when they got a hand stamp anyway. There were a few older kids who argued about whether the ink was permanent on their way through the gate and one who panicked at the thought of losing his stamp after washing his hands in the bathroom.
Another thing that never failed to amaze Mom and me was the kind of stuff people were leaving with... one pair of young men (mid-twenties or so) left with a large set of fake teeth. That's all, just a giant set of dentures. Makes me wonder what their apartment looks like. Countless others left with terribly beat-up stuffed animals, lots of baby stuff (cribs, strollers, etc.), the occasional trampoline or skis or bow-and-arrow set. It made me wonder how many times some of this stuff had been at garage sales, how many people had paid for the same item, how many times it had changed hands, and whether it would end up at another garage sale in the summer. Almost made me want to track something just to see.
I'm not sure what we did wrong, other than we were at the wrong event. You may think that being the first booth at a huge event would be a great spot, but you'd be wrong. No one ever buys at the first booth they stop at, and even if they make a mental note to return later they will probably forget after walking through the rest of the event. On their way out, when they could see us again, by then they had already spent what they had and were in a hurry to get home with their new treasures, exhausted and kids wailing. It may have been bad luck, bad placement, but I honestly think it was just the wrong crowd and they weren't shopping for what we were selling. Nothing except my string of pearls was more than $15, which I think is a plenty reasonable price for all of it and the table looked very nice.
Maybe we didn't do anything wrong. Maybe we did everything wrong. Maybe it was bad luck. But, whatever it was, that was my fourth craft fair and none of them went very well. Is it worth paying a table fee at an event when you'd have to sell everything on the table just to break even? I'm thinking probably not, especially when I prefer to do my work on a custom-order basis. I decided after yesterday that my approach needs to be different or I'll never get anywhere. Time to reinvent myself.
Well, the event sounds like it was a bust with sales. Sorry to hear that, I've had a few of those myself. :( I try to approach them now not only for their sales potential, but also from a marketing standpoint, where I'm getting my name out. I try to have enough business cards and fliers on hand for everyone (figure double what you're thinking will be there), and make sure no one leaves the table without one. Sure, some are going to end up on the floor, but some will also make it home with peeps, and some of those will check it out later. I've found if 5% check it out later, I count it as a success. Did you get a chance to go around and look at how other peeps had their displays set up? That's your welcome mat, and can either draw peeps over or drive them away too. Lots of things to consider doing these shows, just don't give up and try to learn and improve a little for each one :)
ReplyDeleteIt was 275 garage sale and clearance booths, they just had as much stuff as they could piled as thick as possible. My table was neat and pretty and a few people perked up when I said I do special orders and about 15 or so took business cards, but most were gone almost before I even got to say hello. The more appropriate craft fairs have a table fee upwards of $125, which would make it extremely difficult to just break even with my $15 pieces. At this point I think money that would be spent on a table fee would be better spent on professional photography, my website, Etsy listings, occasional mailings, and beads from other artists. This was my 4th fair and none of them have been even remotely successful for whatever reason. My best business has been with friends and family on Facebook, so I'm thinking I need to focus on that instead of beating my head against craft fairs. I'll go to them to see what's there and if there's anyone who would be willing to collaborate, but it'll be a while before I go to another one as a vendor.
ReplyDeleteSounds reasonable to me :) Sorry if it sounded like I was criticizing, was just trying to offer suggestions.
ReplyDeleteI know, and I was explaining my current standpoint. No worries.
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